North America

SpaceX’s Starship program has successfully completed a static fire test of Booster 7 ahead of its launch. The test took place on Thursday on the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas. 

Small satellite mission integrator and bus manufacturer Kongsberg NanoAvionics has doubled its satellite production capability by officially opening its manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing (MAIT) facility in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Three European Service Modules (ESMs) are currently undergoing integration in parallel in Airbus’ Bremen cleanrooms. Consequently, the integration of ESM-3 is almost complete, and ESM-4 is well underway. As a result, the newly arrived ESM-5 structure is undergoing initial integration. Each ESM requires the integration of more than 22,000 elements.

The second episode of this special series of Space Cafe Black Ops with Dr. Namrata Goswami as resident guest is focused on the US. How did the nation build its space power, what are the differences between the space race during the cold war and today?

Iridium Communications Inc. and the National Geographic Society have announced a new program in support of the National Geographic Explorers. The program will allow Explorers to communicate and transmit data globally to better illuminate and protect the wonders of our world.

The Hague Institute for Global Justice has introduced The Washington Compact on Norms of Behavior for Commercial Space Operations, marking a historic milestone for the global space industry. The unveiling happened at the Metropolitan Club, D.C., on 7 February 2023. As a result, the Washington Compact demonstrates the international community's commitment to the sustainable commercial use of outer space for the benefit of all humankind.

Exotrail has raised USD 58 million to scale up and pursue its ambitions for space mobility worldwide. The funds will enable the company's scale-up of its products like spaceware electric propulsion systems and spacestudio mission design software. Likewise, it will fuel the introduction and growth of Exotrail’s new products, spacetower operations software and its space logistics service spacedrop and the expansion of Exotrail’s international presence, with a strong focus on the US and Asian markets.

Ploughshares Senior Researcher Dr. Jessica West spoke with Brian Gallant, the founding and current CEO of Space Canada, an association established in March 2022 to represent Canada’s outer space innovators and allied industries. Nine companies originally came together to found Space Canada (https://space-canada.ca), with the aim of “strengthen[ing] the Canadian space ecosystem.”

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium has co-authored a research paper that outlines the discovery of ultra-hot hydrogen molecules in interstellar space. The discovery is the culmination of four decades of research. Published in January 2023 by the journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the paper, titled 'Analysis of the first infrared spectrum of quasi-bound H2 line emission in Herbig-Haro 7,' is based on data from the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. Furthermore, it builds on decades of research with the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) telescope, also in Hawaii. 

The 2023 edition of the Small Satellites & Services International Forum (SSSIF) will be held again in Malaga from February 21st through 23rd. The SSSIF aims to reflect and discuss the global market, present challenges and future needs, and also debate the necessary cooperation between the United States and Europe both at the level of space agencies and at the level of private companies. Furthermore, it will pay attention to the role of Space Agency missions and programs in Earth exploration and Government scientific missions and their applications for private initiatives.